How to Get Paid What You're Worth as a Freelance Entrepreneur

YEC Women
, We mentor the world's most promising female business professionals.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

From pedrosimoes7 via flickr

By jumping into freelance consulting, you probably realize that you might not make as much as you did at a former full-time job. But that doesn’t mean you should undervalue your expertise.You have something that businesses, clients, or consumers want, and they can’t, won’t, or don’t know how to do it themselves.

According to a survey by The Information Architecture Institute, more women are working as freelance consultants than men (13.7 percent, compared to 8.3 percent). This means it’s vital, as women, to realize our worth when it comes to running our own careers.

Interestingly enough, the IA Institute survey indicated that the growth in freelance consulting among women might have to do with “discrimination against women in leadership positions.” Well, congratulations -- you no longer have to rely on moving up to a certain level within an organization to make what you’re worth.

On the plus side, as a freelancer, you can determine your worth based on several factors:

Experience. How many years of experience do you have in your field or industry? How much is that experience worth? How much should clients pay to use your experience for their benefit?

Expertise. Whether you’re a graphic designer or a freelancer public relations consultant, there will be different rates for different industries. If you’ve worked with a firm or small business, you probably have a rough idea of what the company charged clients to do similar work. If you haven’t, do your research to determine the going rate for your services.

Competition. What do your competitors offer and charge? What makes you different (or better)? How competitive do your rates need to be in order to compete with others offering similar services to yours?

Being a female freelancer has its challenges. Here are a few other things to keep in mind if you want to get paid what you deserve:

Spell out expectations from the start. Give your client a contract specifying your rate, the amount of time you’ll work on the project, and anything else that needs to be agreed upon prior to starting the new project. Just because you’re excited about landing new business doesn’t mean you should start doing work before an agreement is set in stone.

Don’t let emotions get in the way. As women, we tend to have more emotions than men (or at least express them more). Unfortunately, emotions and business often don’t go very well together—in fact, many people think emotions equal unprofessionalism in the workplace. Getting a handle on your emotions or finding an outlet to relieve them -- like exercising or taking a break to do something you enjoy -- can help contribute to your success in working for yourself.

Don’t undervalue yourself. I’ve done this before in my career, and it ultimately leads to not making as much as you should be. Do a fair assessment of yourself, and don’t feel badly about asking for what you think you deserve.

The good news about freelancing is that you hold the reins to your success and happiness. 61 percent of freelancers are actually happier working as independent professionals than as traditional employees, a new Elance survey found.

How else can female freelancers get paid what they’re worth?

Courtesy of YEC

Heather R. Huhman, founder & president of Come Recommended, has nearly a decade of public relations and marketing experience, specializing in media relations, content marketing, and social media. She is also a well-recognized career expert, an experienced hiring manager, and someone who has been in nearly every employment-related situation imaginable.

via YEC

Co-Founded by Natalie MacNeil and Scott Gerber, YEC Women is an initiative of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country's most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment and provides its members with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of a business's development and growth.